Shadows and Parasols
by The Neon Catz
Summary: "One was a glimpse, the other a glance. One was nothing, one was nothingness. Two things seemingly the same, made different." AU.


**I regret nothing.**

 **Disclaimer: Kyoto Animation owns Hibike! Euphonium and all of its characters. I own the AU/plot.**

* * *

A girl swiftly passed among shadows, her dark hair flowing with the heatwaves of summer, the shine passed off as the glass of the window behind her. She supposed the white manikins of the shop helped hide her pale face, as well. Her navy blue eyes were concealed by the blackness that was hiding the rest of her short, slim body. She was unseen, unknown, an impossible force of nature, something only one truly equal to her didn't understand.

And, well, her partner didn't understand.

A brown-haired girl was on the other edge of the street. As cars passed, they obstructed her view, and though she knew the sly pale girl was trying her best to stay in her line of sight, it was hard to when she wanted to stay hidden from the rest of the world. Eventually, the girl on the sidewalk lost sight of the other completely.

 _Dammit,_ she thought. _Why can't Reina just walk normally?! It doesn't matter until we get there._

The frowning girl held a pink-and-red parasol over her shoulder, simply filtering the sun's rays; not catching them, as hard as they tried. Nothing could truly catch the sun, as nothing could truly catch her. Nothing could suspect her brown hoodie, nothing could suspect her denim jeans. Run-of-the-mill girl; nothing special.

As it seemed.

Reina was a glimpse, she was a glance. Reina was nothingness, she was nothing. Two things seemingly the same, made different by the situation.

The brunette calmly reached the next crosswalk, annoyed beyond belief inside. Pushing the button on the traffic light, she waited for the little white man to show up quietly, looking up with a bored look on her face. She sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets, fingering her gun in the right and the knife in her left, as casually as if they were a phone, or a wallet, or a dead match. Not a killing machine.

She blinked out of her thoughts of what she was about to do with the things in her pockets. The humming of car engines quieted as the vent-like screen projected a little white man. She hummed as she stepped along the white lines, her heart quickening. She hummed slightly louder, trying to shut down her thoughts, looking up at the sky, down at the ground; anywhere those flashing yellow headlights weren't staring at her, laughing, murmuring along with the beat of their gears.

She completed her mile as she stepped onto the curb, eyes tired. Blue eyes flashed into her vision, and the chocolate of hers snapped open, and she remembered why she actually crossed the street in the first place. She walked into the shade of the wall's shadow, added with a few canopies hanging off buildings. As she walked by a glass door, she was pulled inside suddenly.

She immediately felt a sting in her wrist. She scrunched her nosed, and looked up at her black-haired accomplice, holding her hand close and stepping back. "What was that for, moron?!"

"It's not safe to be walking in the open," the girl snorted, frowning. "You should really follow me."

"No, you should be following me, not acting suspicious! That's the whole point; get to the targeted place without being spotted!" she frowned at Reina, making for an angry face.

"And what were you doing, Kumiko? Standing out in the open? Practically _begging_ for us to get caught, a chance to get in jail? AGAIN?" The speaking girl put a hand; no, grabbed Kumiko's shoulder forcefully. "I'm not breaking us out of jail once again, dumbass. Come on, let's just stay to the side and not get noticed!"

"Oh, and acting suspicious will help. No, we just need to walk on the sidewalk, not flaunt our skill? No one sees a shadowy person with this-" She held the black fabric of Reina's hoodie- "disgusting cloth, and doesn't immediately report it to the police! We need to just walk there, not scream 'arrest me, arrest me!"

"You literally just screamed that! What the hell!"

"Reina, come on, we're going on the sidewalk. We're not staying here with your dumb argument any longer!" Kumiko shoved Reina's hand off her shoulder, took said hand, and tugged her outside, Reina muttering complaints the whole way. That way being 10 feet.

And so there they were, murmuring insults at one another as a very confused shop owner hid behind their black desk.

. o l o . o l o . o l o .

They finally reached the location of their heist; the Tower. The Tower was a 50-story building; not the highest, but nonetheless, one of the most famous. For on each floor, there's a room that's filled with diamonds. However, if you pick the wrong room, a security alarm goes off. Even if you pick the right room, there's still a passcode you have to enter once you get inside. It's every thief's dream to get in there; to steal every single room.

"Stick with me," Reina murmured, plastering herself to the glass. She looked at Kumiko expectantly, annoyed.

Kumiko scrunched her nose yet again. "I still think we can do this without becoming a suspicious, floating black shape," she muttered, and walked through the glass doors of the coorporation.

What the hell kind of coorporation it was, no one really knew; and the thieves didn't really care. All they knew was that wealth was behind just a few doors.

Kumiko passed a glance at the old secretary. "You gotta sign in," the grumbling wrinkled lady said. She was practically passed out on her desk; no, practically dead. Her cheeks slumped lower than her chin, her own face protesting her ability to stay upright.

Kumiko nodded; though she wasn't sure the lady could see it; and wrote a few words on the sheet in front of her. Nothing specific, just random thoughts. She nodded to the lady, and left the desk, frowning at the shadow in the corner. It was so obvious, a duck could see it. She walked up the glass stairs, wondering why the hell she contracted with such a useless partner.

She reached the second floor with a few taps; her slip-ons were incredibly quiet, though not as manufactured as Reina's for the job. No, she was normally dressed.

 _After all, it's what's on the inside that counts._

The second floor was very nature-like. It had brown carpets with intricate patterns, cherry blossom trees hanging on the walls. The lights were surprisingly simple, however; Kumiko felt disappointed in the floor. _At least finish it off with a little something._

Reina stood next to her, smirking. "If we did it my way, we would be faster. Faster means less chance of getting caught; or did you not know that?" She taunted, though Kumiko simply walked to the only couch on their floor; it was nice, too. The brownish leather was decorated with dark red arms. Almost the color of blood.

She sat down, her partner sitting on the other side. "So..." she murmured. "Which door?"

Kumiko chuckled. "Well, of course, we can't turn the knobs. That's just a red flag all over. We need to cut open the doors."

Reina stared at her. "That would take way too long. Why don't we use the blacklight to check which knob has more handprints on it?"

Kumiko rolled her eyes. "If we're using time, why don't we just break through the doors?" Her argument was weak, but she couldn't simply let Reina have that smug look on her face again; without a fight from her, at least.

Reina growled. "It's the second floor; someone on the first will surely call 911. You're such a dimwit." She got out her blacklight and the lemon juice in a cute yellow lemon-shape from her pocket; of course, it was the only way to buy lemon juice; and spritzed it onto the knob. She shined blacklight onto it, and seeing nothing but a few light finger prints, she moved to the next knob, repeating the same action.

Kumiko held herself up on the arm of the couch with her elbow and fist, yawning. After a few minutes, Reina seemed to not be done with half of the doors yet. _Come on_ , she thought. _It's only ten doors._

After Reina finished, she shook her head. "I- I..."

Kumiko snorted, looking to the window on her right side of her. "Oh, come on. Tell me so we can get this on with," she muttered, still annoyed at letting Reina 'win'. She comforted herself with visions of swimming in diamonds. _Ow,_ she thought. _Actually, don't do that._

Reina blushed. "W-well... you.. er.. see... I didn't... er.. get.. _anything..._ " She last word confused the brunette. She frowned for a few seconds... then resolved an inner conflict and forced a smile onto her face.

"I suppose we'll do it my way, then," Kumiko said in a growl; the odd sound clashing with her stretched grin making for a terrifying exhibit; though it was hard to imagine her face being scary, when it was, everything in the environment added to it; the red of the walls, the dimples of her face, the frustration pushed into insanity in her eyes; it all affected her being.

She took out her gun and shot it into the first door Reina checked without warning. Reina's eyes widened in disbelief; she didn't know Kumiko could be so... uncoordinated. Kumiko continued shooting into the door, and eventually, set off the alarm; as if the gunshots weren't enough.

The brunette fell to the ground, on her knees, hand clutching her ears, humming along with the security system. Reina stared at her, silent, before picking her up.

It was a strange thing, the smaller girl picking the taller one up. The picture may be silly in one's head, with Reina's face so serious, and if Kumiko was sane at the time, it sure would have been a moment. It was indeed a moment, but in a different way. Kumiko cackling, and Reina's frantic move downstairs... it was so unlike the two.

Reina eventually stopped heaving her brunette accomplice down each step, on at a time. She looked at Kumiko weakly, who was staring up at the ceiling with a scary grin.

"Damn you, Oumae Kumiko," Reina whispered. "Damn you, damn you, damn you."

"..." Kumiko looked at her, a smirk on her lips. Her eyelids were heavy, as if she was tired after doing absolutely nothing.

"What?!"

"You're cute when you're angry."


End file.
